Vox: Short audio from the RLF

Words are a re-ordering of dream, an attempt to drag down the superconscious into the good old conscious, where theatres… Words are a re-ordering of dream, an attempt to drag down the superconscious into the good old conscious, where theatres are and publishing happens. Words are a re-ordering of dream, an attempt to drag down the superconscious into the good old conscious, where theatres a...

A comic squib about domestic angst, which began ‘There’s a nasty niff in the downstairs loo’, developed its own agenda…… A comic squib about domestic angst, which began ‘There’s a nasty niff in the downstairs loo’, developed its own agenda... A comic squib about domestic angst developed its own agenda and finally clinched itself in a line, ‘For they are in the world, and you are not’....

I do believe that, alongside metaphors, allegories and similes, a writer’s life itself is but another literary device to be… I do believe that, alongside metaphors, allegories and similes, a writer’s life itself is but another literary device to be incorporated into their work. I do believe that, alongside metaphors, allegories and similes, a writer’s life itself is but another literary dev...

Of the origin stories I read the one I liked best was about Jimi Hendrix releasing a pair of parakeets… Of the origin stories I read the one I liked best was about Jimi Hendrix releasing a pair of parakeets in Carnaby Street. The origin story I liked best was about Jimi Hendrix releasing a pair of parakeets in Carnaby Street. Hendrix spent several months in the city before his death at the...

I was asked to co-translate a doorstep on Joseph Beuys, then a monograph on choreographer Pina Bausch and her innovative… I was asked to co-translate a doorstep on Joseph Beuys, then a monograph on choreographer Pina Bausch and her innovative dance theatre. Yet still winging it. When I was asked to co-translate a doorstep on Joseph Beuys, then a monograph on choreographer Pina Bausch and he...

The green room can be daunting when you’re starting on your literary career but I’ve usually found it a source… The green room can be daunting when you’re starting on your literary career but I’ve usually found it a source of conversation and news. The green room can be daunting when you’re starting on your literary career but I’ve found it a source of conversation and news. After a solitar...

People don’t realise how little money there is, is because — until they are published and they find out —… People don’t realise how little money there is, is because — until they are published and they find out — writers don’t often put a number on it. One of the reasons that people don’t realise how little money there is, is because — until they are published and they find out — writers do...

Julia Cameron states that writer’s block needs to be radically reconfigured as a sign that the writer has too many… Julia Cameron states that writer’s block needs to be radically reconfigured as a sign that the writer has too many ideas, not too few. Julia Cameron states that writer’s block needs to be radically reconfigured as a sign that the writer has too many ideas, not too few. When I...

A photograph is often very revealing. I’ve written an entire novel based on a photograph album owned by the adjutant… A photograph is often very revealing. I've written an entire novel based on a photograph album owned by the adjutant and commander of Auschwitz. A photograph is often very revealing. I've written an entire novel based on a photograph album owned by the Adjutant and Com...

Life is a constant rearrangement of priorities, and sometimes we need to remember that writing — though a compulsion we… Life is a constant rearrangement of priorities, and sometimes we need to remember that writing — though a compulsion we love — is just one of them. Life is a constant rearrangement of priorities, and sometimes we need to remember that writing — though a compulsion we love...

There’s something wonderful about writing when there’s snow. It deadens sound and blankets everything with clean lines. There’s something wonderful… There's something wonderful about writing when there's snow. It deadens sound and blankets everything with clean lines. There's something wonderful about writing when there's snow. It deadens sound and blankets everything with...

Writers must cast aside whichever exciting project they are now working on to go back in time, just as the… Writers must cast aside whichever exciting project they are now working on to go back in time, just as the reader is taking the book forward into their lives. Writers must cast aside whichever exciting project they are now working on to go back in time, just as the reader is taking th...

Knowing your own best work rhythms will save you both from making excuses, and from expecting too much of yourself… Knowing your own best work rhythms will save you both from making excuses, and from expecting too much of yourself at the wrong moment. Knowing your own best work rhythms will save you both from making excuses, and from expecting too much of yourself at the wrong moment. You w...

What genre would Shakespeare be? His works contain horror, history, myth, fantasy, ghosts, crime. Dickens, too. What genre would Shakespeare… What genre would Shakespeare be? His works contain horror, history, myth, fantasy, ghosts, crime. Dickens, too. What genre would Shakespeare be? His works contain horror, history, myth, fantasy, ghosts, crime. Dickens, too. I always have a Dickens on...

I stopped to smoke a cigarette, talking aloud to myself in a near-fury that I had a commission waiting for… I stopped to smoke a cigarette, talking aloud to myself in a near-fury that I had a commission waiting for me and no pitch to make. I stopped to smoke a cigarette, talking aloud to myself in a near-fury that I had a commission waiting for me and no pitch to make, nothing to inspire th...

I learned very early on as a self-employed freelancer that the answer to ‘Can you do this paid work?’ is… I learned very early on as a self-employed freelancer that the answer to ‘Can you do this paid work?’ is always ‘Yes’. That has stood me in good stead. Writing often has to come second place to the work that has more immediate returns. I learned very early on as a self-employed freelanc...

There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. Managing with… There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. Managing with or without a day job. There was actual advice but the real, unspoken advice was that they were all there. All doing it. It struck me when I came down for breakfast the...

The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language… The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language but at those of form. The writers that grab me these days are those who pull and push not only at the limits of language but at those of form. Lydia Davis takes the already chameleon short story...

On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited: recreating Joan of Arc’s… On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited: recreating Joan of Arc’s last night on Earth. On that rainy afternoon in O’Connell Building, surrounded by my classmates, my love of drama ignited. You tasked us w...

I watched my new desk as its surface got covered with more and more piles of paper and books, and… I watched my new desk as its surface got covered with more and more piles of paper and books, and found myself using it almost… never. I watched my new desk from my bed as its surface got covered with more and more piles of paper and books, and of course, I found myself using it almost… never....

Can I even dare to hope that somewhere out there are readers with all my volumes, from the very first… Can I even dare to hope that somewhere out there are readers with all my volumes, from the very first in 1988 to the most recent? Can I even dare to hope that somewhere out there are readers with all my volumes, from the very first in 1988 to the most recent, five years ago, on their books...

The Scillies are the place my imagination retreats to when I’m grappling with a plot, or a new set of… The Scillies are the place my imagination retreats to when I’m grappling with a plot, or a new set of characters. I return there every year. The Scillies are the place my imagination retreats to when I’m grappling with a plot, or a new set of characters. The uncluttered beauty of the lands...

We didn’t know that the ‘Firaq’ in Ghulam Nabi Firaq was a takhalus, a pen name that poets in the… We didn’t know that the ‘Firaq’ in Ghulam Nabi Firaq was a takhalus , a pen name that poets in the subcontinent adopt early in their poetic lives. For years, we didn’t even know that the ‘Firaq’ in Ghulam Nabi Firaq was a takhalus , a pen name that poets in the subcontinent adopt early in thei...

I mentally wander. I encourage that same delicious distractibility which makes me such a poor listener at lectures. We dream… I mentally wander. I encourage that same delicious distractibility which makes me such a poor listener at lectures. We dream up situations and conundra and resolutions for people who have never quite existed. To try to achieve that ‘flow’ state of deep concentration,...

Hugo William’s advice is that voice when I need it. My job isn’t to get better as a writer. My… Hugo William’s advice is that voice when I need it. My job isn’t to get better as a writer. My job is only to do what I can. Hugo William’s advice is that voice when I need it, as I often do. My job isn’t to get better as a writer, or to worry about how people will respond, or if they will respon...